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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Court Was Wrong To Try And Help

When I first heard the story about Danny Hauser who is the 13 year old Minnesota teen that was ordered by a court to undergo chemo, I thought the court was right.

Family friend says US boy getting court-ordered chemotherapy is responding

SLEEPY EYE, Minnesota - X-rays show the tumour in the chest of a 13-year-old boy who resisted treatment has shrunk significantly after two courses of court-ordered chemotherapy, a family spokesman said Monday.

However, family friend and spokesman Daniel Zwakman said the side effects of the treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma have left Danny Hauser weak and miserable.

It's been 11 days since Danny's latest treatment and still "most of his day is spent on the couch," Zwakman said.

Danny received a single treatment of chemotherapy in February but stopped after enduring the harsh side effects. The family insisted on alternative medicine inspired by American Indian traditions.

When Brown County authorities attempted to compel the Hausers to treat the cancer conventionally, Danny and his mother fled the state for about a week in May.

When they returned, a court ordered them to see an oncologist. Zwakman said Danny had treatments on May 28 and June 4 and is expected to receive four more.

Zwakman said the teen and his family remain firmly against chemotherapy but are complying with the court order. "They are very adamant against having the chemo," he said.

Zwakman said Danny's mother has been giving him natural therapies in consultation with the oncologist.

His tumor has shrunk significantly since undergoing chemo. Yet all we hear is the bitching and moaning about how he and his family hate chemo. Where's the gratitude for trying to save his life? Would he rather be weak and miserable, or dead?

My sister would have chosen weak and miserable over being ashes in an urn sitting on a shelf. My sister never got to undergo chemo to treat her cancer because by the time she was diagnosed correctly she lived only one more day.

If she were alive today, she wouldn't be bitching. She would be fighting to save her own life, even if that meant undergoing chemo and spending weeks on a couch recovering from the latest treatment. My family and I would be right there with her, fighting to save her life.

The court was wrong to try and help save this kid's life. If he wants to die (which will happen if he quits getting chemo), let him!! Time and resources should be spent on those who actually want to live instead of on a family that is ungrateful to those who have helped keep him among the living.